Do negative things keep happening to you at work? Are horrible bosses, unrealistic deadlines, backstabbing, and lack of support part of the workday? You are likely wondering why you have such poor career luck. However, have you ever considered that you might be the problem and the catalyst for these damaging events?

Conduct becomes self-sabotaging when it creates problems in your career and daily life and interferes with long-standing goals. The counterproductive mindsets of self-sabotage include negativity, disorganization, indecisiveness, and negative self-talk. You say one thing and then end up doing the opposite or nothing at all.

Why Are You Self-Sabotaging Your Career?

We all have the inner voice that can sometimes divert attention or decision-making. This inner voice might prevent you from performing at your full potential and achieving your career goals. Ultimately you make decisions that cause you unhappiness. In essence, you are your own worst enemy. Here are some possible underlying reasons for self-sabotaging your career:

• Fear of failure. To learn, you must seek new opportunities and step out of your comfort zone. However, if you worry about failure, you might hesitate. This fear is especially paralyzing if you have experienced failure in the past.
• Low self-esteem. Low self-esteem causes you to feel undeserving of career goals. Low self-esteem causes you to not act in your best interests.
• Unhappiness. Being unhappy makes you view the world from a negative point of view and detach yourself from job satisfaction.

Ending Self-Sabotage

If it continues, self-sabotage will damage your career and leave you unhappy. Awareness of self-sabotaging behaviors is the first step to getting positive results. Here are some steps that can help you put an end to career self-sabotage:

• Understand your feelings. Are you constantly worrying about deadlines, stress, getting along with co-workers, and being challenged at work? Understand these feelings and write them down on paper to refer to later.
• Consider your behaviors. Only when you understand your feelings and negative behaviors can you take action to make a change.
• Put a plan together. If you are scared of failure, ensure you have realistic expectations and break things down into manageable chunks. If low self-esteem is a problem, find ways to help you feel more confident about your abilities. Instead of dwelling on the negatives and being unhappy, try to focus on the positives of your career.
• Find the perfect workplace. Do not let self-sabotaging behaviors get in the way and lead you down an unwanted path. Being happy at work is a right for everyone.

Understand that you are worthy of wanting more. The workplace will put obstacles and challenges in your path, but none will be as significant as the ones you create for yourself.

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